NDC Swallows Obed's DFP

Vice President John Mahama (m) with officials from NDC and DFP at the high table

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) yesterday officially announced the return of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) at a press conference in Accra.

A team of NDC bigwigs, led by Vice President John Mahama, ushered in the former chairman of the NDC, Obed Asamoah, and other members of the DFP who broke away in 2007 after falling out with the founder of the party, former President Jerry John Rawlings.

The declaration of the merger makes the DFP a defunct political party.

NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu-Nketia said, 'With the approval of the NDC of this merger, we have brought to a closure the page on the DFP, and the winding up committee of the now defunct party will take necessary steps to inform the Electoral Commission accordingly'.

Under the merger arrangement, he indicated, all persons who were originally members of the NDC, before leaving to form the DFP, would revert to their former status as party members for the NDC as at the time of their departure.

However, Mr. Nketia said in order to enjoy and exercise all the rights and privileges of party membership, they would be required to pay all arrears of dues on restoration to their former status of membership, whilst those who came from other political parties would be entitled to register as new members in order to join the NDC.

In order to facilitate integration into the NDC, provisions have been made for the co-opting of at least two members of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the DFP into the NEC of the NDC, whilst at the regional and constituency level, at least one DFP executive committee member will be co-opted into the NDC.

Mr. Asiedu-Nketia has since urged the members of the NDC to be conscious of the fact that this year's election was crucial and called for all hands on deck to ensure a resounding victory.

But suspended Deputy General Secretary of NDC, Kofi Adams, has told DAILY GUIDE that he does not care about the merger between the DFP and the NDC.

'I don't really care whether the DFP merges with the NDC or not,' he said in an interview.

Vice President Mahama asked members to avoid retaliation even in the face of verbal attacks from their opponents, adding, 'We in NDC are having our disagreements and I will like to call on all of you not to allow those sentiments to go beyond solution.'

He said it was not true that President John Evans Atta Mills had acquired a new set of official vehicles, more expensive than those they inherited from the previous government and called on members to be wary of the falsehood that was sent out to discredit the performance of government.

Vice President Mahama denounced the falsehood being peddled that President Mills had been sleeping at the Flagstaff House, adding, 'There is no iota truth in that assertion'.

On October 8, 2011, the DFP held an expanded extraordinary conference where they proposed a merger with the NDC.

Subsequently, the joint press conference which attracted Vice President Mahama, Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, life patron of DFP, Nii Okaija Adamafio, Chairman of DFP, Bede Ziedeng, General Secretary of DFP, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of NDC and other Ministers of State and regional executive members of both parties was to mark the final merger.

  By Cephas Larbi